It’s one thing to own a hypercar; it’s another to know how to drive one.
Luckily, whoever buys Mika Häkkinen’s McLaren P1 prototype at an auction overseen by Bonhams next month in Monaco won’t have to worry about that. That’s because the two-time Formula 1 champion is throwing in a day of driving lessons for the winning bidder.
Supercars and hypercars are the closest you’ll ever come to driving a race car on a public road. As such, they’re incredibly intricate (and delicate) machines with complex driver controls and systems that can be difficult for some drivers to handle right away. If you try to drive one like you would a BMW M3 or Chevrolet Corvette, you’re not going to get far. Häkkinen will personally help his P1’s next owner get used to their vehicle, though. Although Bonhams doesn’t offer much detail, it says that the Flying Finn will be available for one day of driving and racing instruction at a location of the buyer’s choice.
Inside Mika Häkkinen’s McLaren P1 prototype
Bonhams
There would be interest in Häkkinen’s P1 even if driving lessons from the former race car driver weren’t included. McLaren only built seven validation prototypes, or VP cars, and only 375 examples in total. This P1, which is known as VP3, was the lead car used for durability testing and is the first prototype to be offered at auction. It was tailored by McLaren Special Operations to Häkkinen’s specifications and is finished in black with exposed carbon fiber trim and Papaya orange accents.
The P1 has a hybrid powertrain that produces 903 hp and 723 ft lbs of torque. Of its 903 horses, 727 hp is produced by a twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V-8 and 177 hp by an electric motor. The electric motor has an all-electric range of around 30 miles and delivers electric torque to fill in the turbo gaps when you’re accelerating. All that oomph allows the car to rocket for zero to 62 mph in 2.8 seconds and to a top speed of 217 mph. You see why someone might want to hear what Häkkinen has to say about driving the car before taking it for a spin.
Häkkinen’s P1 prototype is set to hit the auction block on May 10 as part of Bonhams’s “Les Grandes Marques à Monaco” sales event. Considering the car’s exclusivity and provenance, it’s little surprise that the auction house expects it to sell for between $1.6 million and $2.2 million.
